Accomplishment Coaching

Michigan is working through an interesting transition.  It’s requiring much from all of us, especially those in a career search.  It’s requiring that all of us consider a new paradigm, not only regarding the automotive industry, but in ourselves as well.

If we put this in the realm of seeking a new job, one of the old paradigms is the resume.  You know, that piece of paper that we edit incessantly in hopes that we’ll find just the “right” language to use.

But does a resume really do us justice in an economy that continues to view human beings as a commodity?  Does a resume truly communicate who we are?

I’ve found a few things get in the way of effectively communicating, especially when we rely on a resume:

• ego and minimalism (how can I win by doing the least amount of work)
• an emphasis on pleasing or impressing (fluffing the BS)
• focus on the past (jobs, experience, what once was)

As natural as any of these may be, they will cripple any job search.

Rather, what if folks threw out their resumes completely and took on the following:

1. Conducted a job search from the perspective of integrity and well-being. I.e. resumes are EASY, but typically ineffective in promoting yourself.  I’ve never met someone who’s been hired from their resume.  I’m sure it happens, but you’ll likely be hired because of the relationships you form. That takes work and that work takes stamina.  Focus on scheduling your time effectively, doing what you say you’ll do, and make time EVERY day for your spiritual, physical, mental and emotional well-being.
2. Spend 90% of your time networking with EMPLOYED people who can introduce you decision-makers. Stop “tricking up” your resume – what a waste of time.  Spend that time meeting folks and sharing yourself.  A good TIP = find out where movers and shakers volunteer their time and get involved with those organizations – you’ll meet all the decision-makers you could dream of AND help out great causes.
3. Brainstorm and present ideas that make difference. If I’m hiring someone for my company, I don’t care what they’ve done in the past.  Just like the financial services TV commercials say, “Future results are not indicative of past performance”.  What I do care about is “what ideas do they have and are willing to implement that will make a difference for my organization?”  Come up with solutions to current problems.  Better yet, come up with solutions to problems that aren’t yet uncovered.  You’ll set yourself miles beyond all other job seekers.

If you invest more time creating relationships and solutions vs. word-smithing your past, you’ll land that ideal job in no time.

Happy Resume Shredding,

- Coach Preston

http://www.technobizcoach.com

A colleague asked an interesting question recently… one that resonated with me personally as it pointed to an area of my business that once did NOT work and now DOES work. 

He asked, “When making sales calls, are the questions we’re asking offering up the right answers?”  Much depends on how we each define “right answers”, but who really has the those anyway? 

As a technical expert, it’s likely your professional training didn’t prepare you for the world of sales.  That’s a challenge if you own your own a business or have been promoted to a business development role in your organization.

Many technology professionals (and even die-hard salespeople) will say that cold-calling or sales calls don’t work in their business or industry.

B.S. – they can work.  You just need to make a small shift in Intention and Process.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

Challenge – In my own experience, cold-calling isn’t the most effective way to generate leads. Likely, the biggest reason is that I just stink at it.  However, I’m in the sales business, so at the very least, staying on the phone is a key practice for me and it CAN generate results.

Learning – First, I’m facing a losing battle if my intention in making sales calls is to get immediate business.  Second, I need to come to grips with the fact that whether I stink at sales calls or not, I have resistance to making them.  Third, my services require a depth of intimacy with clients that are best initiated through a trusted source (i.e. referral).  It’s critical that I create a system in which folks I’m calling: a) feel comfortable with my call, b) are willing to assist me, and c) qualify themselves right away as decision makers.

Application of Learning – I’ve  created a business feedback interview.  It’s nine questions that focus on three areas: a) what does the person with whom I’m speaking know about my industry/business, b) what do they feel are the best ways for me to market my services including defining possible objections, and c) what events or people do they know about that I should be aware of.  I now use this system exclusively when making cold-calls / sales calls.  I simply ask for 10 minutes of time and proceed.  My intention is no longer seek immediate business, but simply seek a gift from each person I speak with – usually at least one introduction to a prospect, speaking opportunity or networking event.

Results – Just this week, I’ve been introduced to two new prospects, one new speaking opportunity, and been invited to two exclusive networking events I’ve been interested in attending.  And it’s only Wednesday morning.

If I had stayed with the two traditional methods (that I was trained in for years) of: a) simply unloading rhetorical questions and a scripted sales pitch, or b) avoiding the calls altogether, I’d end up with what I used to get – nothing.

A simple shift in Intention and Process has opened a huge door for me.  It might just work for you as well.

Leadership Practices:

1. Email me with a request for my business feedback interview – I’m happy to share it and help you customize it for your business.
2. Dedicate at least 30 minutes a day for making sales calls – start slow with just a few and work yourself up to higher numbers.
3. Notice where you deny that you’re in the sales business.  If that’s really true, perhaps another career would be more appropriate (and comfortable).

Don’t let sales calls bother you.  As a business professional, one of your primary jobs is to sell.  Embrace it by having it work for you.

Happy Interviewing,

Coach Preston

www.technobizcoach.com

I ran across an interesting question on LinkedIn Answers today…

“When you telecommute, how do you stay connected with your place of business?  Today, we are seeing a shift in the workplace and the number of remote employees is on the rise. Technology has aided in this transition by allowing for businesses to be run from home. We know that employees are able to work effectively from home, but how do remote workers remain connected to their organization? How do they establish themselves as present employees who are part of the team despite their location?”

What a great question as it touches on a topic / situation that goes well beyond just “tele-commuting” – it addresses the more contextual challenge we have in creating relationships that make a difference.

These ideas may fall outside of what you see and I invite you to consider them anyway:

Relatedness – where are we practicing or not practicing the following: sympathy, understanding, compassion, authenticity, vulnerability, connection?

Responsibility – where are we practicing or not practicing the following: being answerable, dependable, being “at cause”, looking to oneself as the source of the relationship (in any condition), choosing rather than blaming?

Integrity – where are we practicing or not practicing the following: entering conversations complete (unimpaired by the past), wholeness, acceptance, honesty, have my speaking / intentions / actions all in alignment?

Communication – where are we practicing or not practicing the following: being open, willing to say what there is to say regardless of interpretation or consequence, definite, flexible, speaking from heart, generous, listening for another’s greatness rather than faults, revealing (vulnerable)?

As great as technology is to enhance the “efficiency” of communication, it does not increase “effectiveness” of communication – i.e. we’ve all read an email that, although well intended, upset the recipient. In fact, consider with the increase of communication technology, we’ve actually become less intimate. As I reply to this LinkedIn Answer, I’m alone typing away – the irony is magnificent.

I’m certainly a big fan of technology – most of my clients are in that business. And a possible Achilles Heel might be in technology’s inability to create truly intimate relationships – a key to effective “connectedness” regardless of geographic location.

What’s possible for any of us if we kept “relationship” at the forefront of communication rather than technology?

Here’s to relating,

-Coach Preston

Life and work, at times, feel like an uphill struggle.  We constantly second-guess our careers, our roles, our projects, our life, our relationships and … and … and…

I do it too.  Maybe more than anyone else.

The thing is, where does it get us?  Not very far, although I keep trying to prove that theory wrong. 

A recent email from an out-of-work IT professional sparked some thoughts on how to make life / business a bit less of an uphill climb:

• Consider there is no such thing as perfection.  Perfection is an invented conversation whose only purpose is to keep us confused and disengaged from pursuing what we really want.  It’s sneaky too as many people say “But I’m not trying to be perfect.”  If you’re experiencing frustration about where you are in life, you are engaging in some type of “perfection-seeking”.  So, stop looking / striving for it.
• Stop pursuing what you think is the “right” career path (the one everyone else tells you to follow)  and start pursuing what you’re heart is telling you.
• Make time daily for prayer and reflection. If all you do is spend 10 minutes per day in silence, your world will change for the better almost overnight.
• Cancel all of the following as of today: a) Newspaper / magazine subscriptions, and b) Cable/satellite TV
• Stop watching, listening or researching the news – period.  The media is poisonous and it’s 100% deadly when you’re down.  There is nothing important about the news.  If there is, it will find you without you seeking it.
• Find a book club, professional group or recreational group to hang out with.  Make sure the folks are in it for the activity and to support one another.
• If unemployed, stop hanging around unemployed people.  They are almost as poisonous as the media and are likely not in a position to hire you.
• Sigmund Freud has a brilliant quote, “What you resist, persists.”  All the ways you’re trying to “fix” yourself will only make you more broken.  Fixing is the easiest way to resist what we don’t like about ourselves, but will result only in the persistence of our perceived brokenness.
• How do you find what will work for you as a career?  In my case, I followed my heart and said “f-you” to all the folks who said I was nuts or wrong.  Not a very “coach-like” method, but it initially got me into a career I love.
• Don’t stop when it gets tough.  If it’s getting tough, it means you’re almost at the point of breakthrough.  Seth Godin wrote a brilliant book called “The Dip”.  He explains this thought in detail.  Read it.

Regardless of how steep life’s hill is, I realize I have a daily choice:  a) allow my circumstances and stories to kick me to the curb, or b) go make a difference for someone.  Which should I choose?

Trust,

-Coach Preston

I discovered Pema Chodron a few years ago.  She’s an American Buddhist nun and author.  Quite a combination.  In her book,  Comfortable with Uncertainty , one of the chapters really struck me.  It talks about three strategies we use that, however much we believe they work, really sabotage us:

Attacking

We’ve all been with that colleague who’s typical response to the familiar “how was your weekend” question on Monday morning is, “Why didn’t you get that report done on Friday?”  Kind of like the sucker punch your older cousin would give you at family gatherings – doesn’t really do any long-term damage, but it sure hurts in the moment.  Ever wonder what that colleague has left unfinished?  Think about it.

Indulging

Comfort, is what Chodron points to directly.  Comfort with the how many clients you have.  Comfort with how sales have gone or how your engineering team only had to delay the project one day.  Comfort that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday.  The moment you say “I know” or “The economy is having an impact” is the moment you’ve completely embraced your indulgence.

Ignoring

I have a friend who, no matter where we are, stops to pick up trash.  My clear and unconscious action is to simply walk by it.  What’s the difference?  My friend sees that every action he takes has an impact.  I ignore trash on the street largely because I feel it won’t make a difference.  In those moments I’m ignoring the difference I make.  If we take the conversation beyond trash, where else do I ignore making a difference?

An Alternative Strategy – Experience your resistance

There’s a wonderful mechanism that lies toward the base of our brain called the amygdala.  Its primary role is the processing and memory of emotional reactions.  It’s the part of us that creates 100% of our resistance.  You know the resistance to falling, drowning, or being attacked.  It’s the part of us that triggers the automatic reaction that tries to fix the perceived danger. 

It also creates the resistance to change, to being responsible, to making that sales call, to having that difficult conversation, or to believe you actually make THAT big a difference.  And when things don’t go well, it’s the part of us that tries to immediately fix it.

This alternative strategy suggests we don’t fix it – that we simply experience our resistance.  Since most of what we do in business isn’t life threatening (contrary to the story your overly-caffeinated amygdala professes), we might actually learn something by experiencing our resistance.

The next time you react to a situation at work, imagine what new questions you might ask if you simply notice the resistance rather than try to appease it.  What new behaviors might develop if you practiced waiting two or three minutes to respond?  What if you actually noticed how much time and artistry you waste when you protect yourself from doing the real work by checking your email 50 times a day?  How much wisdom would develop and how much ego would go away?

Leadership Practices:

1. Keep a journal for one week.  Record all the times you attack, indulge and ignore.
2. Practice experiencing your resistance.  Actually tell yourself to just sit with the situation for a few minutes.  Write down your experience.
3. Ask a friend or colleague to point out when you react to something.  I.e. have them tell you when you attack, indulge or ignore.  Make sure not to attack them in the process.
4. Look for the wisdom in the immediate situation.  I.e. ask yourself “In this situation, what is there for me to learn and to teach?”

Leadership isn’t something you’re born with or without.  It’s a calling.  You’re more than qualified to accept it.

Happy Lizard Brains,

-Coach Preston